Tree Root Invasion: How to Protect Your Sewer Line From a Costly Problem

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When residential plumbing services inspect your clogged pipes, they look at the pipes extending into your yard to check for invading tree roots. Tree roots can cause long-term damage that requires intensive repair, so save yourself the cost and hassle of rooter service by following the preventative tips below.

1. Don’t plant trees near your pipe lines – protect your sewer

The only way to guarantee your pipes won’t get invaded is by planting trees far from them, or planting nearby trees with small root systems that won’t break pipes. The safest trees for pipes are often small or have slow growth like the Mediterranean fan palm and Carolina buckthorn. The worst trees to plant near pipes include the sycamore and elm. If invasive trees are already growing along your pipelines, you can install wood/metal barriers at least 6-12 inches deeper than the pipe to create a barrier.

2. Use carbon sulfate crystals for minor invasion

For drains that clog frequently, you can flush carbon sulfate crystals down a toilet (but not a tub or sink). Fifteen days later, any minor root invasion should be dissolved. Any remaining clogging could be caused by more severe invasion, but don’t use any more carbon sulfate. It isn’t environmentally friendly and too much can be toxic to your pets and family.

3. Contact residential plumbing services for root removal

Though you can use DIY techniques for clearing minor root invasions, the roots will grow back and you’ll have to repeat the process. Only residential plumbers, like Ehret Co. Plumbing & Heating company, can provide these long-term solutions:

Hydro Jetting

Hydro jetting blasts pipes clear with high-pressure water spray that can remove additional obstructions, such as early-stage clogs, leaving your pipes clearer than before the roots invaded. However, roots can still find their way in, as tree roots can sense nourishment through any size breech in your pipes. Your plumber might seal the openings or treat your pipes with a poison that deters future root growth.

Pipe Replacement

Sometimes your only choice is to replace the pipe. In most cases, you can use trenchless sewer replacement. This service inserts a narrower pipe into the old pipe or dismantles the old pipe with a pipe of the same size or wider. Once the new pipe is installed, you’d do well to remove the offending tree.

Ehret Co. Plumbing & Heating — Residential Plumbing Services

For assistance with tree root invasion, contact Ehret. Co Plumbing & Heating through our online contact form or call us at 510-528-4292. We provide professional and quality service for residential and commercial properties.

Bad Habits that Damage Your Sink, Shower, and Toilet Pipes

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Everybody has bad habits. They’re hard to get out of because they’re often the easy way out of a situation. You might have a few bad habits when it comes to maintaining your plumbing and keeping your pipes in shape. Maybe you’re already aware of them, but you haven’t tried changing them. If your habits are causing increased need for residential plumbing services, you could save time and money by making a change.

Here are common bad habits that cause many of the problems residential plumbers see:

Overusing chemical drain cleaners

Your go-to tool for a clogged drain should be a sink or shower plunger. If those don’t work, you should try a drain auger. Only if those methods fail should you consider a chemical drain cleaner, because overusing chemical cleaners can eat away at your pipes. While the labeling on chemical cleaners might state that they’re safe for piping, they’re still formulated with powerful chemicals. They’re safe if used once in a while, but for more frequent cleaning, use non-toxic drain cleaners like DIY mixtures or enzymatic cleaners.

Rooter service providers typically use chemical cleaners as a last resort before recommending more intensive services (e.g. hydro jetting). However, most clogs can be taken care of with manual methods or an enzymatic cleaner that breaks down organic proteins. Enzymatic cleaners are especially effective for clearing hair out of your shower drain.

Flushing foreign objects down the toilet

This might seem like common sense, but you’d be surprised at how often residential plumbing services are called in to deal with clogs caused by foriegn objects. Some items might seem like they can flush, such as paper towels and antibacterial wipes, but your plumbing is made for specific purposes. The only things that should be flushed are toilet paper and human waste. Anything else can cause buildup and then obstruction.

Abusing your food disposal

It’s tempting to put all your food waste down the food disposal, but it’s not impervious to damage. First, you should always follow the proper steps: run water, turn on the disposal, put food down the disposal, then turn off the disposal and water. Second, you should keep in the back of your mind a list of what not to put down the sink. You obviously don’t want to put non-food down the disposal, but there’s also food stuff you don’t want to wash down.

Don’t put the following food stuff through your disposal:

  • Pasta, rice, and other food that swells with water
  • Grease, oil, and fat
  • Bones 
  • Potato peels
  • Chicken skin
  • Fruit pits

Putting the above through your disposal could cause pipe buildup, damage your disposal blades, and cause general havok in your plumbing system.

Residential Plumbing Services with Ehret Co. Plumbing & Heating

Ehret Co. Plumbing & Heating provides quick and professional residential plumbing services. We’ll fix your damaged sink and shower pipes, and can advise you on the best pipe care. Contact us through our online contact form or call us at 510-528-4292 for 24/7 residential plumbing services.

Major Reasons You’re Running out of Hot Water

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You know something’s wrong with your water heater when your daily routine hits a major disruption: no more hot water. Maybe it takes longer for your water to heat, or it only hits a lukewarm temperature. Worse, you might not get any hot water. If your hot water supply is dwindling, contact a water heater repair & replacement expert to investigate.

Your dip tube could be broken – if running out of hot water happens often

As you use hot water, the dip tube pushes new water to the bottom of your tank so it can be heated. This ensures that your cold water is heated before it mixes with the rest of the tank. If the dip tube breaks, cold water escapes before it’s heated. It immediately mixes with the hot water and lowers the overall temperature, resulting in lukewarm water.

Broken dip tubes are typically caused by old age or faulty dip tubes. If this is the came, you might find broken pieces of your dip tube in your showerhead, drain cover, or hair strainer. Regardless, if your hot water has run out and is only lukewarm, you should reach out to residential plumbing services for water heater repair.

You might need pipe insulation

If you live in an area with a cooler climate, the pipes leading from your water heater might need to be insulated. Foam insulation sleeves reduce the heat escaping your pipes by the time they reach your shower or sink. If your pipes aren’t insulated, you could be losing up to 4 degrees of heat. This means your water heater needs more time and uses more energy to bring your water to an acceptable temperature.

Insulating your pipes won’t take long (about three hours for a small house), and in addition to increasing your water temperature, will increase your energy savings. You can always have a residential plumber assist if you’re not sure about what insulation material to use or how to cut and secure it.

Your water heater could be too small or too old

If you’ve moved to a new home and never had an adequate supply of hot water, it’s likely your water heater is too small. If you had enough hot water in the past but suddenly it’s running out, your household likely increased its use. There’s also the chance that your heating element is broken or the water heater itself is too old. A water heater repair & replacement expert can do an inspection to determine the cause.

If the water heater is too small and you can’t change your household needs, you should consider a new water heater. For a household of 2-3 people, your water heater should be at least 40 gallons large. For 3-4 people, increase to 50 gallons. For 5 or more people, 60 to 80 gallons is ideal. Larger households might use multiple water heaters simultaneously, such as two 40 gallon tanks or one 40 gallon tank and one 50 gallon tank.

Ask your local water heater expert for help estimating the proper size. When in doubt, go a little larger than your estimations. It’s better to have more hot water than you need than to run out.

Water Heater Repair & Replacement — Ehret Co. Plumbing & Heating

For professional help with your water heater, reach out to Ehret. Co Plumbing & Heating through our online contact form or call us at 510-528-4292. We offer quality water heater services, and are experienced with both storage and tankless heaters.

What to Look For in a Professional Plumber

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When your plumbing troubles are too complicated for DIY fixes, you need the assistance of an experienced plumber. Finding quality residential plumbing services in a sea of companies and contractors is easy when you look for these key qualities:

Valid Credentials and Licensing

California plumbers are required by law to be licensed to prove they have the minimum training and experience for proper service. This specifically means they’ve spent at least four years as a foreman, supervisor, or journeyman, have at least one year of practical experience, and have passed the California Plumbing License Exam. This license has to be renewed every two years by the California Contractors State Licensing Board (CSLB). Make sure your plumber’s license isn’t expired.

Your plumber should also carry full insurance so if something goes wrong during service you won’t be charged. You especially want to be protected if a major plumbing appliance, like a water heater or sewer line, gets further damaged during repairs.

Good Reviews and References

The easiest way to verify a plumber’s work is by visiting review sites and online directories of pre-screened plumbers. Though it’s impossible for a business to have all positive reviews as they serve more clients, you should look for plumbers with consistently high reviews. An unsatisfied customer here and there shouldn’t be worrisome.

Another approach is asking your neighbors, friends, and family for recommendations. They can help you narrow your choices to local plumbers who’ve had great results in the specific projects you’re looking for, like trenchless sewer replacement. You can trust their referrals because their motivation is to help you, not make profit. Other recommendation sources include magazines, newspapers, and other publications that have “Best of” awards for local businesses.

Experienced and Regularly Training

Look for a plumber who has years of experience and still trains themselves. There is always something new to learn, especially when plumbing technology and techniques are constantly evolving. The best plumbers are humble enough to recognize this, and are dedicated to training their assistants and co-plumbers the same.

Experience is the top priority if you need work on major projects like tankless water heaters, trenchless sewer replacement, and pipe repairs. Though every plumber starts with zero experience, you don’t want to trade safe plumbing for a possibly cheaper job. If you choose to work with a newer plumber, they should still be licensed and accompanied by somebody with plenty more experience.

Family-Owned Residential Plumbing Services in the Bay Area

Ehret Co. Plumbing & Heating has provided quality plumbing services across the Bay Area since 1910. Contact us today to discuss our residential plumbing services. As a fully licensed and insured company, we are open 365 days a year to work on everything from major emergency repairs to simple fixes.

Small Leak, Big Problem – When You Should Call a Plumber

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Small leaks can quickly become big problems if they aren’t addressed. They can build up to require substantial repairs, including replacement of pipes and the repair of your ceiling, floor, and drywall. A household plumbing inspection will tell you about all the small leaks and other problem areas in your plumbing that could lead to larger problems in the future.

Here are three signs that you have a leak and should call a residential plumber for a household inspection ASAP:

Brown spots appear on the ceiling

If brown spots are starting to form on the ceiling, you likely have a water leak directly above. The leak could be new, but it could be an old opening that has grown large enough to impact your ceiling. Take the brown spots as a sign that your pipes are signaling for immediate help. The longer the leak is unattended, the more likely your pipes will break down from corrosion around the leak area.

Your water bill is increasing despite unchanged usage

If your water bill is gradually increasing and you can’t justify why, that’s a sign of a water leak. If a faucet even dribbles a few drops of water, your bills can increase. No matter how infrequent the dribbling, it will drain at your savings.

To be sure this is a water leak, check your home for loose or running faucets. If you have a sprinkler or water system for your garden, check those water lines for breaks. If everything appears to be in shape, contact a residential plumber to check for unspotted leaks and problems.

In cases where you can’t locate the leak yourself, the leak might be in the sewer line that runs underneath your home and yard. This would most likely require trenchless sewer replacement, a minimally invasive procedure that disrupts as little as possible of your landscape.

Peeling paint or mold growth in the bathroom

Bathrooms are frequent sources of excess moisture, but not all moisture problems are caused by the humidity of hot showers. Sometimes blistering or peeling paint is caused by water leaks behind the wall. Mold growth can also be caused by water leaking down the walls.

Moisture problems should be immediately treated, especially if they’re in the bathroom, because they can progress to cause the floor or ceiling to collapse. Not all mold is toxic to your health, but if stachybotrys chartarum (also called “black mold”) grows on your walls, it can severely affect your respiratory and immune systems. 

Clear any mold immediately, then have a residential plumber determine if there’s a leak or if your bathroom merely has poor ventilation. You want the leak fixed before the damage can spread to your drywall and cause a need for major repairs.

Ehret Co. Plumbing & Heating provides local household plumbing inspections

You can stretch out time between repairs by applying plumbers tape to the problem areas of small leaks. Keep track of the leaks you find so your plumber can get to work faster.

Small leaks can be indicative of larger problems. Reach out to Ehret. Co Plumbing & Heating through our online contact form or call us at 510-528-4292 to schedule a household plumbing inspection.